A-Frame style homes

[zeebya]

Hi,

  I am interested in building my own A-Frame home on a piece of land I own in the mountains.
I have seen photos of people putting up such homes by building the A-trusses on the ground and then hoisting them up, and using the roof sheathing to hold them together. I've seen others with the rafters built in their final configuration around a single, heavy roof-spine beam. Which is better?
The house I want to build will be about 30' X 60' with a second floor loft. It will be on piers or a basic foundation, not a slab or a basement.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
:-?

[youngins]

Where are you building?

[zeebya]

Building in the mountains near Tehachapi, CA. Want to do most of the work myself, with a couple of friends. Land is at an elevation of 6,200'

Thanks

[glenn-k]

We had one member who started with an A-frame then switched to a cabin after major problems.  He posted his experiences for others to learn from.  

John doesn't have any plans for A-frames as he is geared toward fairly simple conventional construction, but please feel free to share your experiences with us and document them in the Owner-Builder Project section of the forum.

The forum is free for all and whatever help we can give is there for the asking.

Here's a link to Hal Nash's project - scroll down for the A frame info.

http://www.countryplans.com/nash.html

[hnash53]

Yeah my A-frame fiasco is posted in the gallery.  The biggest problem was that all the plans I found said to use rough-cut lumber.  Yeah. Heavy. Wet. Oversized.  Glad it fell down.

But they are beautiful.  Search the net for A-frame plans and you'll find some.

A nice compromise in design are the Chalet types of houses.  One still gets the "A-frame" feel, but you've got some knee walls on the sides of the building.

Best wishes.

[zeebya]

Mr. Nash,

  Thanks for your input. I had read the article you posted, and man I felt for you when the trusses came crashing down.
If I may ask a question: I noticed that there was no single roof spine beam on your images as you were setting the trusses up. Assuming the project had worked out, were you going to join the tops of the frames individually to form a roof spine, or were you simply going to apply your roofing and it's support system directly to the A-trusses and let the sheathing hold it together?
I am set on doing the A-frame, and I'm at a planning standstill on how to approach this part of it.
Thanks again!

[jraabe]

An A-frame is just a big roof sitting right on the floor platform and without the side wall. So you have much the same issues and options you have with roof framing.

One way to do this is to setup a post at either end of the sidewalls, and have this support the ridge beam. You then frame the rafters from the sill plate on the deck to the ridge beam. This beam carries 1/2 the load of each rafter and the other side balances the sidewards pressure.

The other way to do this is to build site built trusses on the deck and tilt them up into place. The peak has a collar tie or force resistive plate or gusset to balance the forces from each side. Then, all you need is blocking between the frames and all this is made rigid by the roof sheathing diaphragm. There is no beam or ridge board. This can be tricky as the roof is vulnerable before the sheathing is done - use plenty of temporary braces such as long 2x4's nailed into each frame. Take these up as the sheathing goes on.

In both cases your connection to the sills is also important as the rafters want to pop outward as the roof is loaded. Use metal hardware appropriate to the loads such as hurricane clips, straps or such. I like to notch the rafters over the inside of the sill plate so there is a natural lock on the plate.

[hnash53]

Yes, that's what I was thinking.  There are some old Time-Life books that I got my plans from.  The specific book I have is called Cabins and Cottages.  Also, you can get some plans from a book put out by the US Dept of  Agriculture that have 2 aframe plans.   There are also aframe plans from u-bild it.

Best wishes.  Let me know if I can answer any more quesitons.

[onegreynight]

We thought about building an A-Frame as well, but once I found John's plans, I decided against it.  I still think they are beautiful, and I may try one someday.  I actually found several interesting A-Frame plans online.  Some where free.  I will see if I can dig up the web sites for you.

Also, have you seen the (fairly) new book on A-frames byChad Randl?  Here is a link to amazon's information on the book:
http://www.amazon.com/frame-Chad-Randl/dp/1568984103/sr=8-1/qid=1171128717/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-9325096-2249608?ie=UTF8&s=books

Randl's book is very interesting.  It mainly discusses the history of the A-frame, but there are some great pictures and some interesting leads for resources.

Good Luck!
KELLY KELLY KELLY KELLY

[zeebya]

Mr. Nash (and everyone else),

  Thanks for the great replies. Very helpful about the roof beam question. Here's another: if I do the roof beam idea, is it possible for me to get metal hangers for the rafters considering the steep angle? And are hangers better than notching the rafter beams?

  Mr. Nash, I'm sure I'll be able (at some point) to pick up that Time Life book, but as yet I can't find it on Amazon or Time Life's website.
  Is there a possibility you might have some of the A-frame plans from that book in your computer, or the ability to scan them easily? If so, I wonder if you'd be willing to email me a copy?

  Just FYI (and because I love to talk) I was originally planning an A-frame over a basement. Then that got changed to a geodesic dome (I know some folks hate them, but I lived in one for about 3 1/2 years, and loved it) and stayed that way until my lender shoo-ed me away from there with the idea that many re-fi lenders won't finance a dome, as they consider it to have poor resale value. I could still do it, but I'd have a harder time getting out from under the construction loan, especially with my bad credit. Too bad, I really love domes. Then I got a great deal on a modular home, but the property owner's association said I can't have that type of structure up there. So, I went back to the dome idea, which the association DOES love up there, but gave up on that when I realized it would be more difficult and expensive to build a dome even as a kit, and again the problem of the lenders was lurking in the trees. So, I went back to my first idea, the A-frame but this time without the basement, figuring it would be easier for two or three people to build, would be somewhat less expensive then a conventional structure, would have great seismic stability, and would look terrific up there among the pines. Below is a picture of the land, what will hopefully be my kitchen window view.
Anyway, the area where I want to build is on hard, fractured granite in the tall pines at 6,200' elevation in the mountains around Tehachapi, CA. Since the area is very active seismically, I want to go back to my A-frame ideas rather than having a home with more conventional kneewalls. An A-frame, properly constructed, is almost as safe as a dome when it comes to earthquakes. And my property's within shouting distance of the White Wolf Fault, which gave us the Tehachapi Quake of 1952, which was at 7.6 on the Richter Scale.
Also, I really like that tall, peaked great room. It's the perfect place for a tall Christmas Tree and the view through the windows is breathtaking.
  Believe it or not, I'm gonna try building this thing by hand, with one or two other people for help, except for jobs I don't have the skills for, like laying the foundations, electrical, etc. Framing and sheathing I'm not too scared of. The house I want to build will be lived-in full time by myself and one other person. I want the heated area of the house to be about 30' X 50', with an upstairs bedroom bath suite as well, and most of the interior will be finished in conventional drywall. I find a completely-wood interior to be too dark. The roof peak will be at 30'. I would welcome any further comments and suggestions you might have. Thanks, again!

[Jared]

Awesome view. Is that what's considered "high desret" like flagstaff? I loved that area.
Jared

[Jared]

Zeebya - Here's the Time Life book at Amazon. It starts used at around a buck.  
http://www.amazon.com/Cabins-Cottages-Time-Life-Books/dp/080942410X
Hope it's the same one.
Jared

[Amanda_931]

A lot of those old Time Life books are out of print.  So the used market is the way to go.

Lloyd Kahn grew to loathe domes, but some of the foam domes seem to be moderately popular in Alaska.  And one of the people I run into occasionally here has fallen in love with the terradomes.

The start of Lloyd Kahn's rant on the subject.  It goes on.

http://www.shelterpub.com/_shelter/refried_domes.html

[zeebya]

Jared and Amanda, thanks so much.
Jared, no that is not high desert, although the Mojave Desert is only a short distance away. You would find similar country around Williams, Arizona, and up at the South Rim of Grand Canyon.
Here's a shot of the front of the property. It's a corner lot.
I followed the links you provided. Some very good stuff! Not only did I find a good used copy of the cabin book, but I enjoyed reading Lloyd Kahn's experiences on the subject. Isn't it funny how one man's disaster can be another man's joy? I can't argue with any of the complaints he put forward, but I still have to say I loved my dome living experience. I found it to be restful, medatative, and inspiring. Of course, it was in a magnificent location, which helps.

[JRR]

Just "thinking out loud" .... I wonder if a bow roof design could be used instead of a "straight" A-frame and have the same, or greater, stiffness?  Once the bow rafters are in place, plywood sheets (oriented sideways) could be attached making a somewhat barrel-like structure.

This seems to me could be very rigid design, but would yield more usuable floor space than the conventional A-frame.

[zeebya]

If I picture what you're suggesting correctly, it seems to me it would look more like a quonset hut. Not my favorite look, and the property owner's association would probably not allow it. Also, creating the curved beams and sheathing is probably beyond my capabilities.
The A-frame gives a cathedral-like feeling in a small amount of space, and if you have glazed (or picture-windowed) end walls, it helps bring the outdoors in, especially with the tall trees at my lot, and that's what I'm after.

[hnash53]

http://www.plansforfree.com/CabinsCottages.htm

http://www.u-bild.com/projects-outdoor/381.htm

http://www.u-bild.com/customer-testimonials/index.htm

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?FamilyID=6664


Paste these into your web browser address line.  The third one has a picture of the second one someone built.  Looks cool.

Best wishes on building your a-frame.

Hal

[Amanda_931]

Gothic arch (with a point at the top), not Roman.

Down at the barn--there's a copy of one of those Dept of Agriculture books (mine came from Lee Valley) with plans for a number of (generally atrocious) houses.  But there is one of the arched jobs, built as a duplex, with site-made beams.  Doesn't look too bad to do.  And it is right nice looking.  But I'm not going down there tonight.

But I did find the book I think it is on the Lee Valley site:

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=51540&cat=1,46096,46100&ap=1